Playing-cards.



P. G. MOPHERSON.

PLAYING CARDS.

APPLICATION FILED MAB.. 9, 1910.

Patented Nov. 29, 1910.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

attoznm F. G. MOPHERSON.

'm0' y Patented Nov. 29,1910.

FRANK G. McPI-IERSON, OF BEAVER FALLS, PENNSYLVANIA.

PLAYING-CARDS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented N ov. 29, 1910.

Application filed March 9,4 1910. Serial No. 548,247.

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, FRANK G. MoPr-innsoN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Beaver Falls, in the county of Beaver and State of Pennsylvania, have invented new and useful Playing-Cards, of which the following is a specification.

My present invention relates to improvements in games played with cards, and more particularly to those games which embody the principle of playing appropriately designated cards in sequence,

The primary characteristic of my improved game is the application to the cards of letters or other characters which are arranged in groups and which, when assembled in a prescribed sequential relation, automatically announce the termination of the game and also inform the opposed players of their respective standing as to the result K of the game.

In the preferred embodiment of my invention, the cards are inscribed withletters at their opposite ends, and these letters are so arranged that when a single card from each group of cards is played to the table in sequential order, the player winning the game will be enabled to read the words I win, while the opposed player will have facing him the words You lose. For this reason, I have called the game I win, you lose.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l is a plan View showing the winning combination of cards. Fig. 2 is a plan view of a series of cards, any one of which may constitute the lirst card of the winning combination, and showing the said series of cards arranged in four minor series or groups. Fig. 3 is a plan view of a group of cards, any one of which may form the second card of the winning combination. Figs. t and 5 are similar views of the remaining cards.

On referring to the accompanying drawings, it will be noticed that my game apparatus consists primarily in a series of four cards 1, 2, 3 and 4, which are provided at their diagonally opposite corners with numerals 5 denoting the sequence in which the cards may be played to form the winning combination of cards and also denoting the trick-winning value of the cards. These cards are also provided at their diagonallyopposite corners and immediately below the indexes 5 with characters 6 indicative of suits in the playing of the cards in tricks.

Each card is divided transversely at its center on its face by lines or similar division marks 7, and upon the face of each card at the opposite sides of said division marks are printed or otherwise inscribed letters or other characters 8 and 9 which are of dissimilar nature and which, when the cards are as sembled in their proper sequential relation, will spell the two sentences I win and You lose. In the particular arrangement of the cards illustrated in the drawings, the card numbered l, and bearing the numeral l as its index, is marked at one end with the letter I and at the opposite end with the letters Se, the said letters being so arranged that the base or lower end of each letter is toward or adjacent the transverse division line of the card. The second card, or the card bearing the numeral 2 as its index, is inscribed with the letter W at one side of its central division line and with the letters Lo at the opposite side of the saine, and in like manner the card marked with the numeral 3 carries the letters I and Il at its opposite ends, while the card marked t has the letter N at one end and the letters Yo at the opposite end, it being particularly noted that on the card marked 3, the letter U is closer to one side edge than to the other side edge, so that when the cards are finally assembled in their proper order, the said letter will appear in its proper relation to the letters Yo so as 'to form the word You. In order to further facilitate the proper placing of the cards and the reading of the same in playing the game as well as to readily distinguish between the characters at the opposite ends of the cards, the letters at the opposite ends are preferably printed in contrasting colors, for instance, the letters I, W, I and N are printed in red while the letters at the opposite ends of the cards are printed-in black. The game could be played. with the four different cards, void of suit characters, but in order to increase the chances against a player holding the combination of cards necessary to win, I prefer to provide a plurality of cards bearing each designation and the group of cards having the same designation are subdivided into suits, that is to say, a plurality of cards bearing t-he letters I and Se, for instance, will be provided and each card bearing those letters will be marked with the numeral l, but the character 6 on all the cards bearing the numeral l will not be the saine. ln the particular illustration, the cards are .sub-divided into four groups of three cards each, and the cards in the respective groups are designated by the letters A, l, (l and l), although the suit'. charactersl of theI ordinary pack of cards niay be used instead of tl'iese letters. It Will thus be seen that there arev twelve of each of the four individual kinds of cards, and that each group of twelve cards is sub-divided into minor groups or series of three cards each. Such an arrangement. will, provide a pack of forty-eight cards, as is obvious, but if a large number vof players are to engage in the game.y the pack may be increased to any desired extent'. lVhile various rules for playing the gaine may he formulated, I will describe the manner in which consider the most eiitertaininent and instruction may be derived from the playing of the game.

In starting the gainer` the dealer is determined by lot or otherwise, according to the agreement of the players participating, and nine cards are dealt to each i'ilayer after the pack has been thoroughly shuffled. Should it be necessary, the discards may be shuffled and re-dealt in order to finisn the gaine, but ordinarily the cards dealt from the pack in the ordinary course will suflice for the playing of a game. The player next to the dealer leads by playing` any card in his hand to the center of the table face upward and the opposing player will be required to play a card from his hand upon the card so led. In playing to the trick, the following player may play any card in his hand, provided that if he has a card of the saine sait he must play that card. The card of the suit led having the higher trick-Winning value Will Win the trick and the Winner of the trick Will then lead. In playing the tricks, card number 1 Will win over card number 4 but Will not win over any other card, While card number l will Win over only card number 3, 3 Will Win over 2 only, and 2 will take l. The Winner of the trick Will, if he can, place it before him on the table so that the last card played to the trick Will appear in the proper place to complete or add to the combination of cards exposed before him on the table, but if the trick is incapable of use in that combination, it Will be put aside as a discard. The Winner of the trick will then lead again and he will continue to lead as long as he Wins the tricks played, the object, of course, being` to either force his op-A ponent to take the lead or to play a card which Will enable the leader to complete the combination of cards spread upon the table before him to Win the game. Should the player leading to the table succeed in taking in tricks containing one card of each group, he may place the same upon the table in front of him so as to form'the Words I win, whereupon the Words You lose 7 will he .siuiultaneuusly formed and 'face the opponent, the loiniing oll these words indicating the termination of the gaine and also anrmunciugl the winner and loser. For example, it the laadt should play card i), suit It, it'y will be nei, t fer hisI opiliouent to play card 2l suit i in order to ein the trick. :"hould tht` opponent play t hat. card and take the trick, he may place the ti'ik iu position he. 3 before himself. Should the op ponentnot hold card -l suit i, he will play ci'lnitcver card he may best; are and the leader will Win the trick` lupposing the card played 'to the will talie the and place it he''ore hitnsclf in po.. ,n i o. -l-, hat if that position should be already filled, the trie fxtriisc.'n be put' in the discard. llt Y playing te; a trick on the table li: s ne t of the suit led. he is, of coarse at; lil to playY any card he may please, and in tl it rase he will, of course, try 'to play a card. which hisI opponent already has e iosed on the board before hini ani.,` l prevent the said player from tilting out the desired successit'in of cards. u

ne may be played by any number of persons, either individually or as partners, and the cards may be multiplied so as to forni a pack ot any desired. site in order to accoini'1io flate a. large n ailier of players. in placingl the ea s on the table to forni the desired combination. the lits of the cards n f be di.c egarded c-.ntirellv b'rt it is necessar)v to arrange the. n l,edele-nce, according to the index .T3 upon each card so that When the cards have be pla ed side by side in their numerical ordern Aetca inined by that indexn the desired combination of letters will be formed. inasmuch as the desired characters to forni the Winni .jg combination are printed in red,l the pla, ers participating in the gaine ivill naturally disregard the opposite ends of the cards, but as the cards are disposed in groups according to the indexes in the corner of the saine, the formation of the nf'iiining coniliiination will necessarily and simultaneously forni the sentence which Will announce to the loser his undesirable position in the gaine.

The cards may also be utilized for playing solitaire, as for instance, by drawing from the top of the deck, playing the first card with the red side up and playing continuously alternately from the black and red ends of the cards. In playing either color, suits Will be disregarded but the cards, of course, will be placed in their proper sequence and the cards which do not fit in this sequence must be discarded, the numercial order on the red side reading from left to right and on the black end reading from right to left in order that the letters may appear in their proper upright positrick to he il, the leader` tions. Should the red combination be first completed, the player Will read the Words I Win but should the black combination be first completed he will read the Words You lose.

The cards are inexpensive to produce and are attractive in appearance. The game is simple so that it may be readily understood by a novice or a child, but it also possesses possibilities for considerable study and consideration so that the powers of observation and memory Will be developed and trained, all of Which Will be readily appreciated.

Instead of the Words I Win, you lose, the cards may be changed to express the same meaning but in ditferent language, thus: Ve Win, you lose, or I Won, you lost, etc.

Having thus described the invention, What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

l. A game apparatus comprising a pack of cards having sequential relation and bearing characters Which, When the cards are assembled in their sequential relation, indicate the termination and spell the result of the game.

2. A game apparatus comprising` a pack or' cards, each card having dissimilar indicia at its opposite ends, and the cards having a sequential relation whereby the indicia on the assembled cards Will spell Words to announce to the opposed players their relative standing at the close of the game.

A pack of cards consisting of groups having a sequential relation, the cards of each group being provided with characters on their faces which when the cards are assembled in the sequential order of the groups Will spell an announcement indicating the termination and also the result of the gaine.

4. A pack of cards comprising four cards having a sequential relation provided on their faces, at opposite sides of their transverse centers, With the characters I and C( Se, C( 7) C LO, I (i U, N and Yo respectively, whereby when the cards are exposed in the order of play they Will simultaneously spell announcements reading I Win and You lose facing the opposed players.

5. A pack of cards composed of several groups having a sequential relation, each card being divided transversely by lines and having letters on each division, all the cards of each group having the same letters but the letters on the cards of one group diifering from the letters on the cards of the other groups, which letters When the cards of different groups are assembled in their proper order Will indicate the termination and spell the result of the game.

6. A pack of cards composed of four groups having a sequential relation, the cards in each group being sub-divided into suits, each card being divided transversely by lines and having letters on each division, the letters reading in different directions, all the cards of each group having the same letters but the letters on the cards of one group differing from the letters on the cards of the other groups, Which letters when the cards of different groups are assembled in their proper order, Will indicate the termi` nation and spell the result of the game, each card being provided at its diagonally opposite corners With numerals denoting the sequence in Which the cards may be played and below the numerals With characters indicative of the suits, the numerals on the cards of each group being different but the characters being the same.

7. A pack of cards composed of several groups of cards having a sequential relation, each card bearing letters Which when the cards are asembled in their sequential relation, spell the Words I Win, you lose, or Words of similar import, announcing the result of the game.

In testimony, that I claim the foregoing as my ovvn, I have hereto aliXed my signature in the presence of two Witnesses.

FRANK G. lVIcPI-IERSON.

Witnesses:

C. R. Pnnno'r'r, ROLAND GAsKnLL. 

